Hold It Together
by gilmorelove22
Summary: Rory's feeling more alone than ever. She's quitting school and her mother just doesn't understand. The last thing she needs is a surprise visitor, but that's what she gets. COMPLETE!
1. Love In The Time Of Gilmore

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, but I wish I were genius enough to. All credit goes to the wonderful Amy Sherman-Palladino.

**Author's Note:** This is a post season 5 finale story. I'm sure a million people are writing about what they hope will happen on the first episode of the 6th season, but I don't think anyone has hopes like mine. Enjoy.

**Chapter One: Love In The Time Of Gilmore**

Rory sat on the side of her new bed in her grandparents' pool house. She couldn't concentrate on anything. Not unpacking her clothes, not alphabetizing her hundreds of books, not finding a solution to all of the vulgar things that had happened that day. Her hair hung in her face, covering the gentle tears that were running down her flushed cheeks. She knew in her heart that discontinuing her education at Yale was the right thing to do. She really needed the time off, but what she needed more was for her mother to understand that.

'You don't got it.' Mitchum Huntzberger's words rung in her head over and over again. Journalism was her thing. It's all she's ever wanted to do with her life. It's what she's worked for since she was a small child. She'd always aced any essays she had to write, she was a beloved journalist on the paper for Chilton and Yale. So why did it seem like everything was suddenly working against her? Her life was so well structured. She had everything under control. Her mother was always there when times got tough. Now she wasn't. Her life felt like it was being dismantled piece by piece. First school, now her mother. She didn't know how long it would be before Logan was out of the picture, but hopefully it wasn't going to be soon.

_Hold it together Rory!_, she thought, trying to calm herself down. Her grandparents were there, she had them to console her. Though she knew deep down that it wasn't the same. No one on the face of the earth had ever compared to her mother, her best friend. Now her best friend was gone, and she never felt more alone.

Rory rose from the bed and tried to focus on getting her things out of the ratty cardboard boxes that we sprawled all over the floor of the pool house. She stumbled across the box that had framed pictures all wrapped up neatly in tissue paper. There was one of her and Logan at a party, one of her and Lane at one of the famous Kim weddings years ago, one of her and her grandparents, Emily and Richard both smiling, but looking uncomfortably stiff. The other six frames were filled with pictures of Rory and Lorelai. Every picture was them both honestly smiling. Never a false, put-on smirk just to satisfy the photographer. Real smiles. Rory had forgotten what it felt like to smile like that, to be so happy like that, and that made her long for her mother even more.

She placed eight of the nine framed pictures on the mantle over the fire place, and on random shelves on the book case. She placed one picture, her favorite one, on the side table next to her bed. It was a photograph of Rory and Lorelai that was candidly snapped by someone in town. It was of one of their annual snow walks. Lorelai was wearing a black peacoat, a long multi-colored scarf, and a black hat with white snowflakes sewn on. Rory had made her that scarf when she was in her first year of high school as a Christmas gift. She remembered her face when she'd unwrapped it on Christmas morning. Her face lit up with happiness and her eyes widened, taking the colors of it in. It could have been the ugliest scarf in the world, but her mother would have worn it anyway, because she loved her, and she'd do anything to make her happy. Rory wondered if she'd lost that. If they'd lost that. Their perfect relationship.

The picture was in a silver frame that said 'FAMILY' in large sparkly pink letters on the bottom. _Families go through hard times, right? We're a family. A small one nonetheless, but still a family. We'll get through it_, Rory thought to herself. "We'll get through it. We have to get through it." She said outloud, as if hearing the words would make it all the more likely. Rory put down the frame and walked away from the table, out the door, and into the Gilmore's backyard.

The warm air of spring swept over her face, blowing her hair away from her eyes. She walked slowly along the patio, hearing the scruffing of her boots against the warm concrete. The bickering coming from her grandparents inside the house made her long for Stars Hollow. The streets would be quiet now, it was late. Just a walk by the town square would satisfy her homesickness. She vowed that she wouldn't dare walk by her house because she knew the second she saw the familiar front door, she'd go inside crying to her mother, which she would later on regret.

Rory walked into the house, interrupted the small argument her grandparents were having, and said "Grandma, I'm going out for a while. Don't wait up."


	2. I Can Still Solve Your Problems

**Chapter Two: I Can Still Solve Your Problems**

The town looked as peaceful as ever when Rory pulled up in her car. She parked and got out to walk a while. She'd taken a copy of one of her favorite books along so that she could sit up in the gazebo and read, enjoying her serene surroundings. The streets were completely deserted. Rory had all of Stars Hollow to herself.

She strolled along the side walk and began to feel a chill. A chill of loneliness. A chill of impending tears. But she didn't want to cry. That was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be able to figure out a way to get everything back to the way it was. She wanted to go back in time and fix it all.

Rory climed the stairs to the top of the gazebo and settled on the bench. She opened her book to the page she'd marked and began to read. After two paragraphs she gave up, unable to focus on the finely printed words. A feeling of disgust and guilt rushed over her. She hated this situation. She wanted to have someone to talk to, but she didn't know where to turn. Her mother was completely out of the question. Her granparents would sympathize, then attack Lorelai, blaming her for Rory's unhappiness. That's the last thing Rory wanted because it wasn't Lorelai's fault in the least.

She turned around, taking in the vacancy of her beloved home town. She looked around with a worried visage, as if she were afraid to see something. This town made her remember things. You couldn't live in a magical place like this and not remember. She glanced at Doose's Market and visions of Dean rushed through her head. The romantic two years that they spent together, and the horrible ending it had. Three times they'd gotten back together. Three times. He'd always been there for her, and she wished she had him to run to now.

Then she noticed that she didn't have Stars Hollow all to herself. She was sharing it with a bright light coming from Luke's Diner. The light shone out onto the street, illuminating every pebble on the lonely streets. _Why is the light on? It's past eleven. Luke's usually closed up and done cleaning by now._ Rory thought to herself, worried that she would cross paths with Luke tonight and, in her vulnerable condition, break down at the sight of her mother's boyfriend.

Rory decided to stop being afraid. She rose from the bench and walked down the steps of the gazebo. She crossed the town square, walking at a rushed pace, and came up to the side of the diner's window. She kept herself hidden behind the brick wall, peering into the large window from afar. Inside she saw her mother, sitting at one of the tables, hands in her lap, twiddling her thumbs like she always did when she was nervous. Luke was standing up facing her, with a terribly confused look on his face. Rory couldn't figure out what was going on.

"What?" Rory could barely hear Luke through the heavy glass windows.

"I said," Lorelai began, "Will you marry me?"

Rory was suddenly sucked into their conversation. She was mesmerized, waiting for Luke's answer. _Say yes,_ Rory thought to herself, _Please say yes_.

Rory watched as Luke hesitated, pacing back and forth across the diner's beat up tile floor. "You want to marry me?" Luke asked Lorelai, not looking in her direction, but there was a tone of happiness in his voice. "Because I mean, marriage is a big step. We'd have to live together, you'd have to be ready to take me on full time."

"Luke, I know all of this," Rory leaned closer to the glass, trying to hear Lorelai clearer, "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Look at us. Here I am, once again, coming to you with one of my problems, and here you are, once again, trying to solve it." Lorelai paused, stood up, walked over to Luke and put her arms around his waist gently. "It's more than just you being able to solve my problems. It's that you can make me laugh at any given time, it's that you've always been the one picking me up when I fall, no matter how much I've hurt you in the past. You've always been here for me and I know it's because you love me. And I promise you that I am always going to be here when you need me. Always."

"I love you." Luke said, leaning down to Lorelai for a kiss.

Lorelai pulled back and looked into Luke's eyes meaningfully. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"Yes." The two became lost in a kiss.

Neither had noticed Rory standing outside the window. Lorelai looked so happy. Rory began to think that in a regular situation, she'd be the first one her mother told. She was the first one to be told with Max. She'd always ran to Rory with the good news first. It was different this time. It was different and Rory could feel it. She stood with her back against the wall thinking intensely. _Is Mom replacing me with Luke? She looks so happy with him. She said that he can solve all of her problems. Now they'll be living together and I'll be in Hartford. Oh God. I hope she doesn't forget the way it was. It can still be like that. I need to talk to her._ Rory began to walk toward the diner door, but saw that the couple was still swept up in a passionate kiss. _I can't interrupt her now. This day has been bad enough for her, I can't ruin this. She's so happy._

Rory stepped off the curb and onto the empty streets of Stars Hollow. She felt lost. She had no one to turn to. She walked back toward her car, trying to clear her head. Far ahead of her she noticed someone walking toward her. Rory couldn't decipher who it was because his head was down. He seemed to be mumbling something to himself, he sounded angry. She noticed that the leather jacket he had around him looked familiar. _Who on Earth would wear a motorcycle jacket in May?_

Then it hit her. There was only one person who would be crazy enough to do such a thing. Only one person who would walk down the streets furiously mumbling this late at night. She called out to the man.

"Jess?"


	3. Things Change

** b Author's Note: /b ** I apologize for the previous chapters being so short, but they had to be in order to give off the effect that I wanted them to. Hopefully the rest will be a little bit longer.

_ i You've got to be kidding me, /i _Rory thought to herself as she walked in his direction.

Jess came into the little light that was gleaming from the diner's window. He looked sad, but that wasn't anything new. "Rory." he said, as if annoyed by her presence.

"What the hell are you doing back here?"

"Look, I didn't think that you'd be here. I thought you'd be off at school."

"Well I'm not, am I?" Rory said annoyed.

"It's late, why don't you go home."

"Excuse me? Don't tell me to go home, this is my town!" Rory was growing furious, as if he'd done something to agitate her.

"Why are you getting so mad?"

Rory walked off quickly over to one of the benches in the square. She was speaking under her breath to herself, and Jess couldn't quite make out what she was saying. All he knew was that those hushed words were more than likely about him. This infuriated him. He followed Rory's path and sat down next to her on her chosen bench. "Okay listen," his tone was loud and agrivated, "I've been in this town for all of three minutes and you're already mad at me."

Rory jumped up in a defensive response, "Jess, you promised me. That night when you came to my dorm and asked me to go to New York with you, you promised me. You said that if I said I really didn't want to be with you then you would just leave me alone. And now you're back. Why can't you just stay out of other people's lives?"

Jess's face turned red with frustration and he bursted out in screams, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm not here to see you? Don't you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" his words hurt her. "I'm not here to get you back Rory!", his voice started to return to a normal volume, "I get that you don't want me anymore. I've tried enough times. I was a jerk and you couldn't count on me. I wanted you to trust me when I said I'd changed, but you didn't. There's nothing I can do about that now. So please, go home and let me do what I need to. The faster you let me, the faster I'll be out of Stars Hollow."

He got up and started toward the diner, almost running.

"Don't!" Rory shouted in his direction. "Please don't go in there."

Jess peered in the window, trying to figure out the reason behind Rory's plea. He saw Luke and Lorelai going up the stairs to Luke's apartment. "He finally did it." he said smirking.

"Did what?" Rory asked, still hurt by Jess's earlier outburst.

"Got the girl. Your mom."

"Yeah, I guess he did."

Jess looked at Rory sympathetically. He could tell from the look in her eyes that something wasn't right. No matter how many times he'd deserted her, he still loved her and knew when something was wrong. He walked over to her, his hands in his pockets, dragging his feet along the gravel. "So why are you out here all alone?"

"They're getting married."

"Who is?" Jess asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"My mom and Luke. They're getting married."

"Since when?"

"Since about five minutes ago. It just happened. She asked him and he said yes."

"So your mom dragged you out here so that she could propose and then left you to fend for yourself?"

"She doesn't know I'm here." Rory said, her voice became monotone. She looked up at Jess with lonely eyes.

"Do you want to talk? I know you don't think of me as the most dependable person, but I'm here now. If you need me that is."

Rory walked closer to Jess and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jess hugged her back, feeling the tension in her arms. "Thank you." she said in a small voice. They started to walk down the road toward her car, their shoulders casually brushing against one another's. Rory suddenly didn't feel so stranded. She had Jess. She knew that he wasn't exactly who she was expecting to rescue her from this mess, but atleast it was somebody.

center /center 

The roads were almost as empty as Stars Hollow was. The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever with only the scattered sounds of Rory's nervous driving.

"So.." Jess said, hopeful to strike up a casual conversation, "How's Yale been treating you?"

"Jess, it's okay, you can skip the small talk," Rory said without taking her eyes off the road.

"It's not small talk, I really want to know. How's everything been?"

Rory was silent with the exception of a frustrated breath of air escaping through her lips.

"Come on, Rory. Something's obviously wrong. Where are we going anyway? Back to your dorm?"

"No."

"Back to your house?"

"No."

"Okay, well would you like to tell me where then?"

Rory swirved her car off the road violently. She stopped on the side of the road and turned the car off. "What's with all the questions?" she asked Jess, pretty much yelling at him.

"I think that I have a right to know where you're taking me."

"You said that I could talk to you if I needed to, right?"

"Right."

"So I'm going somewhere that we can talk."

"Okay." Jess answered, dumbfounded by Rory's aggressive tone.

She started the car back up and eased back onto the highway. The silence continued between them until they finally arrived at one of the coffee shops near the Yale campus. "Here we are," Rory said relieved, hoping that once they were inside the tense silence would lighten up.

They both got out of the car and walked toward the entrance. Once they were inside, the hostess greeted them and informed them that their waiter would be out in just a moment. "So I'm guessing you come here a lot?" Jess said, once again trying to ligthen the mood, hoping this time Rory wouldn't blow up at him about it.

"Well, they have coffee, so of course." Rory answered, with a slight giggle. "Listen, I'm sorry that I yelled at you before. I've just had a very confusing couple of days. It wasn't right for me to take it out on you."

"Don't worry about it. So, do you want to tell me what's been going on."

Rory's eyes widened, "Okay, here it goes. I'm quitting school, because I'm incapeable of achieving my dream, and my mother hates me for it. I got arrested for the first time ever the other day and now I'm living in my grandparent's pool house. Everything in my life is just falling apart." She stopped to catch her breath, covered her eyes with her hands, and gave into tears.

Jess saw a waiter coming toward them and gestured for him to disappear. He slid his chair next to hers and put his arm around her, pushing her hair out of her eyes with his other hand. "Hey," he said softly, "It's going to be alright."

"No it's not Jess! I need my mother. I need her so badly right now. But she's done with me. She has Luke now. I've screwed everything up and I just can't seem to get it all together again. I don't know what I'm going to do. I just don't know." Her sobs became louder and uncontrolable.

"Come on, let's go outside." Jess took her hand and led her out of the coffee shop, his arm still around her. They walked over to a small alley between the cafe and the bus station. They sat on the curb and Rory burried her head into Jess's chest, trying to calm herself down. He rocked her back and forth reassuring her that everything would turn out fine.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For this. You come into town, not even wanting to see me because of the horrible way that I treated you, and the first thing you do is sit here listening to my crap, trying to make me feel better. I'm so sorry."

"Hey," he said, tilting her chin up so that he could see her face, "I wouldn't be here with you if I didn't care about you. Don't apologize." He hugged her tightly again, thinking about how long it's been since he had been able to hold her like this. He still loved her so much and, despite the situation, he was overwhelmed to have her in his arms again.

Rory felt safe in Jess's embrace. She never had before, but she could tell that there was something different about him. She had a feeling that he was going to stick around this time. Maybe she was being naive, but she had to believe in something.


	4. Love Sneaks Up On You Sometimes

**Author's Note: **I'm not exactly sure how many chapters this story is going to have. I'm just kind of going with it.

**Chapter Four: Love Sneaks Up On You Sometimes**

"Okay," Rory said while she settled back into the driver's seat of her car, "Where should I drop you off?"

"Just go back to Stars Hollow."

"Are you staying with Luke?"

"No."

"Are you staying at one of the Inns?"

"No."

"Uhmm okay, where then?"

Jess hesitated, not wanting to tell Rory that he'd be sleeping in his car for the rest of his stay in Stars Hollow. "Just somewhere in town."

"Okay, well you need to tell me where so that I can drive you there." There was a long silence and Jess just stared straight ahead. "Jess? Where are you staying?"

"I'm sleeping in my car. So just drive me back to town and I'll-"

"No you're not," Rory cut him off leaving him with a feeling of defeat. "You can't sleep in your car. I won't let you."

"Come on Rory, I'm not gonna go wake up ol' reliable Uncle Luke and disturb whatever it is he's got going on in there with your mom."

"Then you can stay with me."

Jess was taken back by Rory's suggestion, "At your grandparent's house?"

Rory forgotten her current living arrangements. A sudden feeling of homesickness brushed over her. She could feel the tears building up at the brim of her eyelids but she couldn't cry. Not again. It wasn't fair to Jess.

"Rory?" silence. "Rory?" more silence. "Lorelai!"

Rory came back to reality at the sound of her full name. "Sorry. I just, I forgot about living at my granparents' house. It's all so new to me. So.."

"Don't worry about it. Listen, I don't think that me staying with you at your grandparents' house is the greatest idea."

"Yeah, me either."

There was the silence again. It grew unbearable for Jess. "Okay, Rory. I don't know why you keep freezing me out of your thoughts, but you obviously need to do a lot of thinking. So how about you just drive me to one of the Inns outside of Stars Hollow. If I stay in town I doubt the news of me being back will travel slowly. So just take me to any random one, then go back to your grandparents' house, and I'll call you in the morning." Silence again. "Okay?"

"Huh? Oh.. yeah. Fine." Rory said, still in somewhat of a depressing daze. She shook her head as if that would help and started the car up. "Do you need money? I can give you some for a room."

"No, I've got it. Thanks."

"Okay. Okay."

They began driving and Rory started up some small talk, trying to avoid slipping away into self-depricating thoughts again. They talked about how California had been for Jess and how he'd gotten his act together and went back to school once he moved to New York. He got a steady job at a bank and was saving up for college. He told Rory that she was his inspiration. He said that he felt worthless after that last phone call on her graduation day, and he realized that he needed to make something of himself and stop wasting his life. Rory told him that she never thought of him to be worthless, just stubborn. She told him that she was glad that his life was back on track and confessed that she was proud of him.

They eventually pulled up to a motel about three miles outside of Stars Hollow. "Alright," Jess started, "Thanks for the ride, I'll call you tomorrow."

"Wait, I'll walk you up."

"You don't have to."

"It's the least I can do," Rory said with a reassuring smile on her face.

The two got out of the car and walked toward the main building. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Jess paid the short, fat, balding man at the desk and was given and room and a key. Rory walked with him up the concrete stairs to the cheaply painted pink door of his room. They stood outside the door awkwardly for a while. Finally Jess broke the silence, "Alright well. Like I said, I'll call you tomorrow." He scooped her up into a caring hug, holding her once again, not wanting to let go. "Get some sleep, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks." Rory said half-heartedly. Then she watched as Jess slid his key into the slot and disappeared behind the door. She started to walk toward the stairs but stopped. She turned around and watched the light appear from the windows of Jess's motel room. She could see his silhouette as he took his jacket off and threw it on the chair in the corner of the room. He walked over to his bed, his back facing her, and rested his head in his hands. Rory didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay here with Jess. She felt safe with him. She watched as the light disappeared from the window. She thought that since he was sleeping, she could just sit outside his room and gather her thoughts. She'd leave before sunrise. Before he could find out that she stayed there all night. Before he could realize how truly weak she was.

Jess lay on the lumpy mattress in his motel room. He looked at the clock on the end table. Three o'clock. He'd been lying there for two hours and hadn't been able to get any sleep at all. His mind was filled with thoughts of Rory. The way he'd treated her, deserted her. He'd screwed it all up numerous times. She'd given him a second chance, and he messed it up. _I love her. I love her so much,_ he thought. He had another chance now, and he promised himself that if she ever took him back, he would never mess it up again.

He hadn't even come to get her back. Didn't even expect to see her. But it happened. If he believed in fate, then he would guess that this was an act of it. No one was expecting him to come back to town. No body even knew why he was there. He liked it that way. He wanted to keep his business to himself. He'd only share it with Luke, and maybe Rory. Maybe. If it came up and he was feeling truthful.

Jess became startled at a sound outside of his door. He couldn't exactly make it out. It sounded like soft sobbing. He got arose from the lumpy mattress and walked over to the large window facing the parking lot. He moved the white lace curtains aside and looked out. She was sitting there, right in front of his window. _How long has she been here?_ he thought, _You stupid idiot! You should have watched her get into her car and drive away. But no, here you are again, messing things up. _He walked over to the lamp and switched it on. He looked back out the window and saw Rory had looked up in response to the bright light now coming out at her.

She looked at him with big weepy eyes and Jess just stared. She tried to control herself but couldn't stop the tears. He walked over to the door and unlatched all of the cheap locks. He opened the door and embraced her in yet another long hug. She hugged him back harder than she'd ever hugged anyone in her life. Her cries grew louder and he took her into the room, kicking the door closed behind him. He took her over to the bed and sat down beside her, holding her and rocking her back and forth. He felt guilty, but he was very much enjoying this night. Rory was terribly upset, but he'd been able to hold her a number of times. He was finally the one there to make everything better, not screw everything up.

"Shhhhhhh," he soothed her, stroking her hair.

She sat there in Jess's arms crying for ten more minutes. When she finally calmed down she looked up at him. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Why were you sitting out there? Why didn't you go home?"

"I can't. I don't want to go back there."

"Okay, so stay here. Stay with me as long as you need to."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose. You've been so great, you should at least get to sleep."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You wouldn't be imposing at all." And he meant that. He'd actually be disappointed if she didn't stay there all night, crying her problems out in his arms. He put his arm around her and lay her down on the bed.

Rory nuzzled her head onto Jess's warm chest. She could hear his heart breathing. She took comfort in the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took. Her sobs diminished and she grew sleepy. She looked around the room one last time before her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open.


	5. Wedding Bells Don't Stop The World

**Author's Note:** Sorry that I waited for the fifth chapter to really start switching between characters, but it just flows better that way. The evolving relationship here is definetly Jess & Rory, but I wanted to incorporate as many characters as possible. Enjoy.

**Chapter Five: Wedding Bells Don't Stop The World**

His arm was wrapped around her chest, pulling her close to his warm body. She woke up feeling safe in his arms. She should be happy, right? The man she was hopelessly in love with had just agreed to marry her. She was happy about that, truly. Yet, there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that reminded her that all was not right in her world. Some relationships were growing stronger, while others were falling apart. She needed to get out.

"Luke," Lorelai said softly, gently lifting his arm above her head and freeing herself of his embrace. "Luke, I have to go."

Luke shifted his position the bed, slowly opening up his eyes. "You have to go? It's only five o'clock. My alarm hasn't even gone off yet."

"I know," Lorelai said, letting out a huge yawn. "I have some things to do."

"At this hour? You can't even keep your eyes open. What kind of things could you possibly need to do without your vision?"

"Rory things."

This silenced Luke, and he immediately understood that Lorelai needed some time away from the happy so that she could think about the sad. She needed to rack her brain for a solution to getting her daughter and best friend back. "Oh, alright. I guess I'll see you later on?"

"Of course, my husband to be." The words sent shivers up both of their spines, ending in extremely wide smiles on both of their faces.

Luke sat up and gave Lorelai a kiss goodbye. "I love you."

"I love you too." Lorelai walked out of the apartment and down the stairs into the diner, unbeknowest to the fact that she was leaving Luke unable to fall back asleep because of the uncontrolable smile on his face.

The house felt empty without Rory. Lorelai had adjusted to living alone, but she'd always had the security of knowing that Rory would be coming home that weekend or that summer. Now that security was gone. But deep down, she knew that the way she was handling the situation was right. She knew that she shouldn't support Rory's decision because of the way her own life had turned out. Yes, she had a wonderful life, but getting it wasn't so easy. Not going to college, or not finishing it, was a very stupid decision, and she knew that Rory wasn't stupid. She knew that if she just pushed her a little bit, Rory's mind would get back on track and she would go back to school and have all of the oppurtunities that Lorelai didn't. She'd always been behind whatever it was Rory decided to do with her life, but this time it was different, and it was killing her.

Lorelai walked over to the couch and sat down, pillows all around her. She breathed out heavily with frustration, deciding whether or not she should call her daughter. _Be strong,_ She thought to herself, _Rory's a big girl. It may take some time but she'll realize that what your doing is for her own good._

She finished her thought and realized that this was the same way her parents used to treat her. They always said that the way they handled things was for Lorelai's own good. She hated them for it. She didn't want Rory to hate her, she wouldn't be able to take it. So what the hell was she supposed to do? _I need to get out_, she thought, getting up and putting on her boots. _I need to get out and take a walk, clear my head, then I'll figure out what to do._

It was nine o'clock by the time she was finally out the door. She walked toward the center of town toward the coffee. She passed by the town's bookstore and it suddenly became impossible not to think of Rory. _Hold it together, Lorelai!_

She started to quicken her pace, hoping to get to Luke's and forget about everything. Straight ahead she saw Miss Patty, almost running her way.

"Lorelai! Lorelai, sweetie!" she was yelling, "Lorelai, I need to talk to you!"

"Patty? What's the matter? Is everything okay?"

"With me? Yes. With you?" she paused to catch her breath, "Not so sure."

"Oh, you heard about me and Rory?"

"You and Rory? No. But I did hear about something else."

"What is it?"

"Jess is back."

"Jess? Luke's nephew Jess?" Lorelai asked with a shocked look on her face.

"Yes, Jess."

"Again? What the hell could he be here for now? I swear if Rory sees him and she gets upse-" Lorelai couldn't finish her sentence. She realized that Rory most likely wouldn't see him, she probably wouldn't see Rory for a few days, and hopefully Jess would be gone by then. "Okay, Patty, thanks for telling me. I need to go talk to Luke."

"Wait, what happened with you and Rory?"

"Oh I'll tell you later on, I really have to go right now."

"Okay, sugar, talk to you later then." Patty walked down the street toward her school.

Lorelai almost ran the rest of the way to Luke's. She bursted in and ran right up to the counter. "Ceasar, where's Luke?"

"Upstairs."

"Okay thanks." Lorelai brushed past the counter and up the stairs to Luke's apartment. She threw the door open and then slammed it closed behind her. "Luke!"

"Hey." Luke came out of the bedroom with a broom in his hand. "What's the matter?"

"Jess. He's back."

"What?"

"Did you know he was back?"

"No. I would have told you. Wait, how do you even know."

"Miss Patty just told me."

"Well how does Miss Patty know?"

"Miss Patty knows everything."

"He's probably here for a reason. But I can't think of what it would be." Luke pondered the thought for a minute, "I wonder why he didn't come to see me."

"Probably robbing a bank or something, then running back to New York to try and sweep some poor girl off her feet and take her away to his bat layer."

"Hey, come on. I know he hasn't treated Rory so well in the past, but he's not that inconsiderate."

"I know, sorry. I'm just... fed up with everything."

"I know," Luke said, trying to soothe her. He walked over to her, pushed her hair away from her face, and kissed her forehead sweetly.

Lorelai put her arms around his lower back and buried her face into the comfort that was Luke's chest. "Thank God for you," she mumbled softly, "Thank God for you."


	6. Out With The Old, In With The New

**Chapter Six: Out With The Old, In With The New**

Rory woke up to the sound of her cellphone ringing. She looked around the room, almost forgetting where she was and, more importantly, who she was with. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and realized that it was already eleven o'clock. She wiggled out of Jess's hold and walked over to where her purse is, retrieving her cellphone. She opened it to see that Logan was calling.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ace," Logan's warm, familiar voice rushed through her ears, "Hope I didn't wake you."

"Oh, no, of course not," she lied.

"How are you doing this morning? Still at your grandma's?"

"Uhmm," she hesitated, not knowing what to say, "Yeah," she lied again.

"Okay, how about I come pick you up? We can go out for lunch, talk a bit?"

"Oh, actually," she tried to come up with an excuse, " I promised my grandpa last night that I'd help him reorganize his library. He loves that kind of stuff so I don't want to disappoint him."

"Okay. Then, call me later?"

"Sure." Rory hung up the phone and noticed how much she hated lying to Logan. She hated lying to anyone. She need to talk to Jess.

She walked over and shook him lightly. "Jess. Jess, wake up."

Jess came about and looked up at Rory with a smile. She hadn't seen Jess smile very much in all the of time that she'd known him, and when he did, it seemed forced. Except for when he was smiling at her. She knew that when they'd became involved about two years ago, nobody liked it. Luke did at first, but then everyone seemed to think that Jess was corrupting Rory. She knew that he wasn't. She knew that he wasn't the warmest person on Earth, but for some reason, she loved him so much. And when he looked at her that morning, she remembered all of that. She remembered that no matter how hard she tried to forget about him after he'd left, it seemed almost impossible. She still wasn't sure if she was completely over Jess.

"Hey" Jess said softly.

Rory walked over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Yes, she loved Logan. Still did. But Jess, he was different. He's like one of those characters in a movie that you love to hate. But she didn't hate him. She loved him. Or at least, she used to. She used to. She closed the bathroom door and looked in the mirror again. "Logan," she said to herself softly, "he loves you, and you love him. Jess is just here for-" then she realized that she didn't even know why Jess was here. He'd never told her.

Jess sat outside of the bathroom on the floor, waiting for Rory to come out. He went over in his mind how many times it was that night that he had to use everything in him not to just bend down and kiss Rory. He loved her so much. He'd loved her since the day that he'd come to Stars Hollow. Everytime he heard a ridiculous love song on the radio, he thought of her. Everytime he came across a copy of Oliver Twist, he thought of her. That's why he didn't want to run into her this time. He knew it would be too hard to watch her turn him down again. So he wasn't going to say anything and he wasn't going to try and find her. But somehow, she'd found him.

She came out of the bathroom and jumped at the sight of Jess, sitting at her feet, with his head in his hands.

"Did I scare you?"

"Just a little," she giggled under her breath. "Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?" Jess said, getting up from the floor.

"Why did you come back? To Stars Hollow I mean. I know it wasn't to see me, but you didn't tell me why."

"Oh. Well, you don't want to hear about it."

Rory stepped closer to him, their noses just inches away from touching. "No, I really do. I want to know."

"Okay," Jess's voice cracked, "Uhm, well.."

"What?" Rory asked impatiently.

"My dad died, and I came back to tell Luke."

Rory's face lost all its color. "Oh, no. Oh no I'm so, so sorry, Jess."

"Don't be sorry, you didn't kill him."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm so sorry that you're going through this difficult time and the second you get to town I start talking about my problems. I'm so selfish."

"Hey, don't be sorry. It's my fault that you didn't know, I didn't tell you. And like I said, stop apologizing for being an emotional wreck. Everyone has a right to every once in a while and I think that you have a right to be."

"Okay, well, then I guess you should be getting to Luke's, you need to talk to him."

"I'm in no rush."

"I should be going." Rory said, gathering together her purse and keys.

"Why?"

"Well, don't you want me out of your hair? I mean, you have things to take care of."

"No, I like having company, believe it or not. Why don't you stay? We could go out for lunch, then I'll drive you back to your grandparents' house."

Rory thought for a minute, "Sure. That sounds great."

Jess disappeared behind the bathroom wall. Rory flopped down on the bed and smiled, truly smiled. She liked this. This new found friendship. At least, that's what she thought it was.

She got up and walked over to the three way dresser and fixed her hair, straightened out her clothes, and reapplied her makeup. Jess came out of the bathroom and walked over to her. He looked at her in the mirror and said, "Beautiful," then smirked.

"Why thank you kind sir," Rory answered back playfully.

Jess picked up his things and put them in his back pack. "Shall we?"


	7. The Bearer Of Bad & Good News

**Chapter Seven: The Bearer Of Bad & Good News**

"Thanks a lot for lunch," Rory said as she pulled up to Luke's diner. "I had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, me too." Jess said with a smile. He opened the car door and got out. Before leaving, he bent down, "I hope everything works out. I'll call you later on."

"Thanks."

Jess closed the door and watched the car speed away from him. He'd been having such a good time with Rory lately that his father's death had almost slipped his mind. He turned and looked through the blinds of the diner, watching Luke as he cleaned the counter. It took him a while before he actually went in.

The familiar ring of the bell made Jess feel at home. He had always liked living with Luke, even if he didn't show it very well. He walked up to the counter and sat down.

"What can I get ya?" Luke asked, his head still down.

"Hey Uncle Luke."

Luke looked up at Jess. He smiled, not looking surprised to see him. This made Jess curious. There was no indication that he was coming, unless somehow Liz had heard about Jimmy dying and called Luke. That couldn't be though. Jess only knew because Sasha had called him, telling him about the accident. Sasha didn't even know about Liz. So there was no way.

"Hey Jess." Luke came around the counter and sat down next to him. "How have you been?"

"Okay, you don't looked surprised to see me."

"I knew you were in town."

"How?"

"Lorelai."

Jess's eyes widened, "Lorelai?"

"Yeah."

"How did she know I was here? Did she see me?" Jess sounded panicked.

"No, Miss Patty told her."

"How did Miss Patty know?"

"Miss Patty knows everything."

"What are you doing back here, Jess? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love seeing you. But I've known you a long time, and in that time, I've come to learn that you don't just come to see people. There's always a reason."

"It's Jimmy."

"Jimmy?"

"He's dead."

"What?"

"Car accident. Three days ago. Hit and run. Still haven't found the guy."

"Aw, Jess I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Wasn't much of a father to me anyway. Not like you."

That brought a smile to Luke's face. Jess thought of him as a father figure. Him. Luke Danes. He guessed he was now capeable.

The two of them sat in silence for a long time. Luke got up and hugged Jess tightly. He returned behind the counter and made a fresh pot of coffee. Jess gestured to the stairs and Luke nodded. He walked up the familiar staircase and into the apartment that was once his home. He'd never knew what it felt like to be loved and have a real home until he moved in with Luke. He'd missed it. He'd missed it a lot. He let his stubborness get the best of him two years ago. Thats why he'd left. He had too much pride. Now he'd wished he could go back and rethink it all. Maybe he'd still be with Rory. Maybe.

Jess heard Luke's footsteps as he climbed the stairs to the apartment they had once shared. Luke opened the door and gave Jess a sympathetic look. "Hey, you don't have to feel sorry for me, okay?" Jess fired, trying to act tough. Luke lifted his hands in a shielding manner and walked to the refrigerator.

"I saw her."

"Saw who?" Luke said, his head still in the refrigerator.

"Rory."

"Oh, you did? Where?"

"Actually, last night. We were together all night."

Luke jumped up and turned around with a look of concern taking over his face. "You spent the night with her?"

"Yeah. Not what you think though."

"Well, what.. happened?"

"Long story." Jess filled Luke in on all of the details of what had happened the night before. What Rory had told him about her mother and not finishing school. He'd never been brutally honest with anyone in his life aside from Luke. Luke was always easy to talk to and Jess was glad that he'd come back to Stars Hollow.

"Wow."

"Yeah. So, you and Lorelai? Getting married?"

"Yup," Luke said, drifting off into his own happy thoughts.

"I'm glad."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You deserve it. You deserve a Gilmore."

"Well," Luke answered, slightly laughing, "Maybe I deserve one, but it doesn't mean I'm prepared to handle one."

"I hear ya." Jess laughed. Luke had been able to make Jess laugh regularly. Jess didn't laugh much. The only people that were able to make him flat out laugh were Luke and Rory. The two most important people in his life, no matter how little he got to see them.

"So, you still want one?"

"One what?"

"A Gilmore Girl."

"Well," Jess said, looking up at the ceiling, "You know how tough it is to get over those Gilmores."

"That I do."

Jess go up from his seat at the table and walked past his uncle to the bathroom. He locked the door and closed his eyes, banging his head against the wall. How did he get himself into this? Here he was, again, pining for this girl that was totally out of reach for him. He had her once before and still didn't understand why she'd given him a chance. _She's so much better than me_, he thought opening his eyes and leaning on the bathroom counter. _I don't have a shot in the world. I had my chance and screwed it up miserably. I need to get out of here._

He raced out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Luke looked up trying to figure out what was going on. He walked over to Jess, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Hey? Where are you going?"

Jess turned around and looked Luke square in the face. "I have no idea."

"Come on," Luke said sympathetically, "Let's talk."

"Luke, you know me. You know very well that I'm not the kind of guy that sits around and cries when his life doesn't go exactly the way he wanted it." Jess started a furious pace back and forth across the small apartment. "My life has mostly been crap. There have been a million times when I just wanted to bail. First, my dad leaves right after I'm born, not the right way to get the father of the year award. Then, I mess up things at home. Then, my mom ships me off here, away from my friends and my life!"

"Jess, I'm sorry that things haven't gone well for you in the past bu-"

"No, let me finish." Jess came closer to Luke, his arms swinging in the air with every word he spoke. "My mom sent me here to live with you, the uncle I never really knew. I thought it was going to be the worst thing that ever happened to me. I was too stupid to realize that good that you were doing for me. You were making me go to school and work. You straightened me out. I was just too dumb to realize that." Jess paused and sat down on the edge of Luke's bed. He took his head out of his hands and looked up at his uncle. "You took me back when I wanted to come live here again. You really did care about me, but once again, I was an idiot."

"Then I finally land the girl of my dreams, stealing her away from her prize-winning boyfriend, and I screw it all up. I failed school and bailed. That was the STUPIDEST thing I've done in my life. I should have taken your offer and done the year over. Maybe I'd still have Rory, maybe I wouldn't be some screw up."

"Jess! You're not a screw up!" Luke sat down next to him. "Everyone makes mistakes, you just made a bunch of them. You can still get everything together. Go back to school and-"

"I already did."

"You did?" a smile appeared on Luke's face.

"This year I finished up high school. I got a job at a bank and I've been saving money to go to college."

"Have you applied anywhere yet?"

"No."

"Well, the summer just started, we can get some applications and turn them in as soon as possible."

"One problem."

"What?" Luke was so excited that he was practically glowing.

"I don't have much money. Only about two thousand. That's not gonna get me anywhere."

"It's okay. I'll help you."

"Luke, that'll be so expensive. Dorm and tuition? I can't take all of that money."

"Okay, I'll help with the tuition and you can live here, with me, again."

"Here?" Jess thought a moment. He remembered what he had just said about Luke straightening him out. If he really wanted to do this college thing, he'd need Luke's help, "Are you sure?"

Luke's smile suddenly turned into a stern, serious visage, "As long as you go to all of your classes and you don't screw it up. I'd be happy to help you."

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Jess couldn't help but smile. He got up and hugged Luke. Maybe things were finally working out for him.


	8. Like Mother, Like Daughter

**Author's Note:** This chapter is probably the least likely to actually happen on the show (not that I actually think anything in my story will). It's just something that I've always wanted Rory's character to do, so I hope you like it.

**Chapter Eight: Like Mother, Like Daughter**

Rory stood outside of the Gilmores' large front door, her hand approaching the knob. She didn't want to go in. She was hoping desperately that her grandmother would be at some DAR function, or anything to get her out of the house. She stalled for a few moments longer, then finally brought herself to open the door. She walked into the house and didn't see anyone at first. The maid came over and greeted her, "Hello Miss Gilmore."

"Hi." Rory responded shyly. "Um, is my grandmother home?"

"Yes, she is. Mrs. Gilmore is upstairs." _Rats_ "Would you like me to go get her for you?"

"Oh, no, thank you so much though."

The maid disappeared into the kitched and Rory instantly heard the familiar clanking of pots and pans. Something smelt good in the Gilmore house, but Rory couldn't focus on that. She tried her best to quietly sweep through the house and out the back door into the pool house. She was successful until she heard Emily shouting orders at the maid from upstairs. "Alert m e the second that Rory comes home or else I'll-" Emily appeared on the stairwell and noticed Rory lightly stepping across the living room rug, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore!" Rory suddenly turned around at the sound of her grandmother's stern voice. "Where in God's name have you been?"

"Grandm-"

"NO! You don't get to talk. You listen to me, and you listen to me good." Emily stepped off the last step into the living room, pointing her finger visciously in Rory's face. "You said that you were going out and not to wait up. So I figure that means you'll be home a little past midnight and you're being a good little grandaugther and don't want to make your grandparents stay up waiting and waiting until you finally pop through that door. So do you know what I did?" Emily stopped, waiting for Rory's answer.

"No, Grandma, what did you do?"

"I went to bed. I went to bed at 12:30. I thought you were responsible enough to actually come home. But before I went to bed I set my alarm clock for 4:00 so that I could get up and check that you got in alright. So when my alarm went off, your grandfather and I went to check on you, just as planned. And do you know what I found in that pool house?" Emily's voice trailed off into something playfully creepy.

"Not me?"

"Damn right not you!"

"But Grandma I never said when I was going to be home."

"I don't give a damn! You are now my responsibility and I want you home at a reasonable time."

"I'm twenty years old! I can take care of myself."

"As long as you live in my house and as long as I'm paying your college tuition, you're my responsibility."

"You're not paying my tuition anymore!"

"I swear, Rory, you get more and more like your mother everyday. First you drop out of school, now you're not coming home at night!" Emily's face was a dark shade of red. "You're going to turn out a failure just like her! You won't graduate college, you won't have a husband."

Rory jumped out of the comfort of her grandmother's floral chair in the corner of the room at the sound of her mother being disgraced. "Excuse me? My mother is far from a failure! You're aren't half the woman that she is."

"I will NOT be spoken to like this in my own house."

"Well you know what Grandma? Too bad! You wanted a screaming match, here it is. You will not yell at me then quit once I actually have a response."

"Ror-"

"NO! Now you have to listen." Rory kicked off her shoes and threw her purse on the floor. She walked over to her grandmother and lowered the tone in her voice. "My mother is the best person I know. She is kind and compassionate. She loves me more than anything in the world and I love her right back. She is anything but a failure. She ran away from you because she felt strangled, you strangled her. For years, you and Grandpa have treated me like a princess, while my mother sat there, taking your low blows. I am unbelieveably greatful for the things that you and Grandpa have given me, but you need to realize something. Mom ran away because she couldn't take it anymore. All she ever heard for you was how this was all her fault, and how she single handedly ruined her future. You never give her any credit for raising me. You're always bragging to your friends about how you have such an angelic granddaughther, but every single flaw that I have is all her fault. Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, I'm the way I am because of the way my mother raised me?" Rory paused, "No? Well that's too bad because that's exactly the case."

"My mother is not a screw up or a faliure or an inconsiderate woman or any of those horrible names that you insist on throwing at her. I would say that you should be proud of yourselves for raising such an amazing woman, but what I really think I should say is that you should be ashamed. Ashamed of the fact that you do everything in your power to try to dismantle her. You desperately want her to fail. And you take credit for me being successful in school. You say that I have 'the Gilmore gene'. But I bet that you never thought of it this way. Maybe I'm the way I am because my mother tried something new. She left your world of pearls and proper manners for something more her own. She's her own person and it drives you absolutely crazy. You know that she doesn't need you and so you take it upon yourselves to try and push her down just to show people that without you, your daughter is nothing. All for the sake of a name. It's disgusting."

Emily stood next to Rory, motionless and silent. She have never in her life been spoken to that way, and she didn't know how to react. She never expected this from Rory.

"Grandma," Rory started again, "I want you to know that I love you and Grandpa so much. And as I said before, I am beyond gratelful for all of the things you have done inorder for me to get a good education, the kind that I wanted. But my mother doesn't need all of this crap from you. She doesn't need you to constantly blame everything bad in the world on her. You may say that what I'm saying is ridiculous, but if I were able to play back any of the dispicable things that you've said to her over the years, you would most definetly be ashamed of yourself. She didn't want to come to you for money, but she did it for me. The second time? As you know, that was my call. She didn't have an easy life, and running away made it harder for her. But if she hadn't run away, she wouldn't have the wonderful life that she does now, and either would I. No matter how much you think that we live horrible lives, cutting coupons and making clothes, it doesn't matter. We are so happy. We have been for years." Rory's eyes began to fill with tears, "Now, we may be going through a tough time right now because of the decisions I made, but I know that everything's going to work out between us. I know that because she is my best friend in the world and I love her more than I've ever loved another person. Nothing is going to tear that bond that we have apart."

Emily started to sob, thinking about all of the things that Rory was saying.

"I know that you've always wanted your relationship with Mom to be close, and maybe it could have been." Rory was full on crying through her words now. "If you had just given her a chance, maybe things between you two wouldn't be so terrible. So I want you to think about everything that I'm telling you. And if you decide to shut me out like you did with her, then fine. I won't like it one bit, because I love you. But if you think that's how you want to handle it, fine. And if you do end up closing us out forever, then I'm sorry I ever had to deal with all of this. Watching you belittle my mother right in front of me for years. If you're going to kill our relationship because of my strong, strong opinion, then I don't think anything that we've gone through was worth it."

Rory bent down, got her shoes and purse, and stormed through the backyard into the pool house. She started to rip random things off the shelves and started to stuff them into the cardboard boxes that they were in less than twenty four hours ago. Her crying grew louder and she flung herself onto the bed. She started pulling at the blankets of the freshly made bed and just cried and cried. She'd made such a mess of things. All of the things she said to her grandmother made her think of how she'd messed things up with her mother. She really hoped that they would be able to rekindle their relationship. Cradle it back to the place that it was.

_Why in the world did I tell my mother that I was quitting school? Why did I even want to quit school? Screw Mitchum! I don't care what he thinks. This was my dream. It still is my dream. So I get one bad opinion. He may be important in the journalistic world, but so what? Maybe he was wrong. Why didn't I just listen to my mother?_

Rory's thoughts were beating her up inside. She kicked herself over and over for letting things get this way. She needed to get to her mother and try to make her understand that she was sorry beyond belief.

She walked over to her purse and picked up her cell phone. She dialed Luke's diner. As the phone rang, she whiped the running eye makeup from underneath her eyes.

"Hello?" she heard on the other line.

"Jess, good, I'm glad it's you."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I completely exploded on my grandmother."

"What! What did you say?"

Rory filled Jess in on everything that she'd said. He was impressed that she finally got up the nerve to actually say it all. She told him everything she realized and that she wanted to come see him before she said anything to Lorelai.

"No problem," Jess said in response. "Come pick me up and we'll drive around for a while. I'll be outside of the diner."

"Okay, thank you so much."

Rory picked up the framed picture of her and her mother that was on her night stand. She looked at it for a long while, then pulled it closely to her, hugging it. "It's gonna be fine."


	9. Kittens & Rekindled Love

**Chapter Nine: Kittens & Rekindled Love**

Jess was standing on the corner of the street scuffing his feet along the warm cement when he saw Rory's car pull up to the diner. He opened the door and got in and they drove away in the direction of Hartford. "Where to?"

"I don't know, I figured that we should just drive and talk. I'm not sure if I should get my stuff from my grandparent's house or not. I'm sure that once I tell my mother that I realized how stupid leaving college would be, she'll let me move back home. I just really hope that I haven't damaged our relationship too much."

"I'm sure that she'll understand." Jess said, trying to sound comforting. What he was really thinking about, though, is if this was the right time to tell Rory that he was going to move back in with Luke, and go to college in Connecticut. He knew that she would be happy that he finally got the means to recieve higher education and that he was actually going through with it, but he didn't know if it were the right thing to say. He didn't want her to think that he was moving back just to be around her. Sure, being able to see the woman of his dreams a lot more often would be a bonus, but it truely wasn't the basis of his decision.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Rory asked, noticing that Jess seemed to be drifting off into his own thoughts. Jess thought this was as good a time as any, he just needed to find the right words.

Rory stopped short, making them both jump. There was a kitten in the middle of the road that wouldn't move out of the way. Jess watched as Rory got out of the car and walked over to it. She picked it up, petting its head. Rory walked over to the sidewalk, seeing that there weren't any cars behind them, and placed the small, gray kitten on the ground. She started to walk away but stopped at the sight of the kitten following her. She looked at Jess and he started to shake his head, signaling for her not to bring the cat with them. But Rory gave into the kitten's sweet face and picked it up again. She walked back to the car and got in, handing the kitten to Jess.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I can't hold an animal and drive at the same time," Rory said, laughing.

"No, I mean, why are you bringing this thing with us."

"It's not a thing, it's a helpless kitten, how could you not love it?"

"I never thought that you were a cat lady, but I guess I was wrong."

"Shut up!" Rory said, gently smacking Jess's shoulder.

Jess looked down at the small creature and gave a disgusted look. It smelled bad and was terribly dirty. Suddenly, the kitten bit his finger and jumped up onto his shoulder, playfully clawing at his eye. "OW!" he shouted, pulling the cat off his face.

"He's just playing," Rory said, "Put him in the back seat if you don't want to hold him."

"We should name him Swan."

"Swan? What kind of name is that for a cat?"

"Nothing," Jess said, laughing to himself about how he'd never told Rory that it wasn't a football that had given him that black eye that time, it was a vicious swan.

"I think that we should call him," Rory paused and wrinkled her nose to imitate intense thought, "Jasper."

"Jasper?"

"Yeah, I think it's fitting."

I actually don't hate that. It's not too cutesy."

"Well, what can I say? I have talent."

The two drove around in silence for what seemed like forever. But it wasn't a tense silence like it had been the night before. It content, refreshing, and Jess knew that Rory felt it too. Jess snuck peeks at Rory when she was completely concentrated on the road. _Tell her,_ he thought, _There aren't anymore distractions, so go ahead and tell her the good news. She'll be happy. I hope_.

He opened his mouth to speak and then was interrupted by Rory's sudden need to strike up a conversation.

"So, I think that me going back to Yale is good, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, because I don't want to do something stupid. But I guess even wanting to drop out was stupid. It's good that I didn't tell the people at Yale that I wouldn't be coming back yet. Yes, it only happened yesterday, but still, I could have been in a rush. It was good that I wasn't." Rory's tone was rushed, she was rambling on and Jess decided later would be a more appropriate time.

"So, what about you? Where do you think you want to go to college? Once you get the money saved up I mean."

Or, maybe now. "Well, actually. I talked to Luke and he said that if I lived with him for the next couple of years, he'd pay for me to go through college."

"What? Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Well, I was going to but then, I don't know, we both got distracted."

"Jess, this is great!"

"Yeah I guess."

"No! It is. It really is." Rory paused, "So?"

"So... what?"

"What school are you going to go to?"

"Oh, I don't know. We're going to send in some applications as soon as we can get them done. Luke said he'd help me with that. Then, if not, there's always community college."

"Wow, this is.. this is so great. I'm really proud of you."

Jess blushed, relieved that Rory didn't take it the wrong way. What was he thinking anyway? He should have known that Rory would be supportive, she always was.

"Plus," Rory started, "We'll get to see more of each other." Jess looked up at her, surprised that she'd even said that. "I mean, I know that yesterday morning you were the last person I thought I would be hanging around with, and the last person to help me get through things, but, now that you're back, I've realized that I really did miss you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm sorry if this is too sappy but,"

"No, not at all. I missed you too."

"Good. I'm glad I'm not alone here." Rory looked over at him and flashed him a smile. "So anyway,"

Jess looked around and realized that he'd forgotten to take the key to the apartment that Luke had put out for him earlier. "Oh crap."

"What's the matter?"

"I don't have my key to the apartment."

"So? Luke will be there to open the door for you later."

"No, he told me that he was closing the diner up early tonight so that him and your mom could go out and celebrate their engagement. He said he was going to leave at around four." Jess glanced at the car's digital clock. Ten minutes to three.

"Okay, Rory said, looking at the clock as well. We'll go back and we can go get your key, then leave."

"Alright, sounds good."

"Why don't you come in with me? I'll probably take a couple of minutes, and I could use the help finding the key because the place is a wreck."

"Uhm, okay. Luke won't mind?"

"Nah, I told him about last night and everything, so he knows that we were hanging out today."

"Alright."

"Leave Jasper here."

The two got out of the car and walked up to the diner. They went in and Rory shyly smiled at Luke. He returned her grin and then the two climbed the stairs to the apartment.

Jess swung the door open and was immediately embarrassed that Rory was forced to see this mess. He walked in a stepped over the cardboard box that was right at the foot of the door. Rory wasn't so fortunate to see the box. She walked in with her eyes fixated at the disaster that was Jess's new home and tripped right over the box. She fell, hitting the floor with a loud smack. "Ow!"

"Jesus! Are you okay?" Jess said loudly, bending down immediately to help her off the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I twisted my ankle though. I need to sit for a couple of minutes, then I'll be fine."

Jess helped Rory over to the leather couch in the corner. Jess set her down carefully, trying to make her comfortable. His face was only inches from hers. Rory looked up at him and he could feel her warm breath on his face. "I need to find that key." he said, his voice cracking mid-sentence.

"Yeah."

Jess moved away from Rory and looked around the apartment. _That was close_, he thought, _close._ Yes, he wanted Rory back, but she needed to make the first move, so that he knew that she wanted the same thing. If he let his mind get ahead of him, he could think she wanted him back too, and would go ahead, make a move, find out she wanted nothing of the sort, and screw everything up. So, it was up to Rory.

He continued to search the apartment for his key. He lifted every paper, moved every loose object, but he found nothing. "Where the hell could it be? I've looked everywhere."

"Maybe you should go downstairs and ask Luke where he put it."

Jess felt like a moron. "Why didn't I think of that." He started to turn to go downstairs when she noticed the key on the table next to Rory. "Oh wait, there it is."

Rory looked over at table, spotting the key. Jess went for it but stopped when his hand bumped Rory's. She turned her head to look up at him and without warning, kissed him. It was a long, passionate kiss. One that both of them were waiting for. Jess kissed her back for a while until he came to his senses and broke it. He pulled back and gave her a curious look.

"Wow," she said, "Wow. I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what I'm doing." Jess just stared at her, trying to make sure that had actually just happened. "I guess I thought, I thought that I felt a vibe coming from you but, I was wrong. Wow. Please forget this. I was being stu-" Rory was cut off by Jess's lips. He returned her kiss with another long, hard one. He slipped his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. He felt the warmth of her body against his chest and broke their kiss again. His eyes still closed, he whispered to her, "I love you."

She continued to kiss him long after his confession. He started to panic, thinking he'd gone too far. He was worried that she didn't want to hear that, she was just vulnerable and she needed someone to hold her and make everything better.

His fears were conqured when he felt her warm breath against his ear, "I love you too."

Jess let everything go and let himself get lost in Rory's kiss. This was what he needed. He needed her and now he had her. He would never mess it up again. Never.

Before he knew it, Rory was lying on top of him, unbuttoning his shirt, never breaking their kiss. He pulled her closer and closer to him, until there was nowhere else for her to go. Neither of them heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. Neither of them heard the door creak open.

"Lukeeeee! Are you in here?" The two jumped at the sound of Lorelai's voice.


	10. I Promise

**Author's Note:** This is my favorite chapter so far because it switches between points of view. Enjoy.

**Chapter Ten: I Promise**

Lorelai took a step back to process what it was she'd just walked in on. Here she was, looking for her boyfrie- fiancee, and she accidentally had walked in on her daughter, who she was now on the outs with, and her once-boyfriend, horizontal on the couch. It was a lot for her to take in in a few simple moments. "Oh my God," she said, covering her eyes and turning around. "Uhm, Luke isn't here, is he? I guess that's a stupid question. This wouldn't be happening if he were here. Or if he is here, I'm going to kill him for letting this happen. Uhmm, he's not here, right?"

"No", Jess said, embarassed, buttoning his shirt back up, "He's down in the diner."

"Uhmm, okay, I'll just, I'll go then." Lorelai blurted out, dashing out of the apartment and down the steps. She was absolutely furious. Luke had to know that they were up there alone, he must have seen them walk into the diner and up the stairs. Once she was in the diner again, she started to yell, "Luke! Where the hell are you?"

"Why are you yelling? I've got customers!" Luke said in a hushed tone.

"Oh, we need to talk."

"I'm busy,"

"Too bad." Lorelai took hold of Luke's sleeve and pulled him out to the front steps of the diner. She stood there pacing, rubbing her hand against her forehead.

"What?" Luke said, sounding somewhat worried.

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The two sat on the worn leather sofa awkwardly, staring at eachother. "So," Jess started, "That was crazy."

Rory looked into his eyes, wondering what he was really thinking. Maybe he was thinking that he had made a mistake to get wrapped up in her again. All of the things that come with dating a Gilmore. He couldn't take it last time. Hopefully he was more prepared now. She hoped to God that he wasn't regretting what had just happened. Rory watched as a strand of hair fell in his face as he bobbed his head from side to side, trying not to look uncomfortable. This was reminding her of the first time they'd be alone in Luke's apartment. How they stood so stiff, not sure how to act or what to do.

This mess that had been made was just getting worse. Now Lorelai was going to be mad at the fact that Rory was getting involved with 'him' again. She didn't know where to start or what to say. All she knew was that she had to set things right.

"Jess?" Rory said softly

"Yeah?"

"Did you mean it? What you said before. When you told me that you loved me, did you mean it? Because I mean, some guys just say it without any meaning behind it."

"Of course I meant it." The look on Jess's face made her trust what he was saying. She leaned over and kissed him again. Every time that their lips touched the sensation made her remember how much she loved him. Every time he came back for her, it killed her not to go with him. It killed her to say no. But she knew that if he really did love her as much as he said, he'd give up everything for her. It may be selfish, but Jess knew how much she wanted to be a journalist and how much college meant to her. He knew that she'd never be able to leave her life at school or in Stars Hollow. They both knew that time at Yale she wouldn't be coming back with him. They both knew that if he really wanted to be with her, he'd have to make the sacrafice. No matter how much she loved him.

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"Lorelai, I swear that I didn't know!" Luke was following her in her rushed paces, trying to get her to look him in the eye. He was failing. He hated how stubborn she was.

"Luke, come on! You let those two up to the apartment alone and expect nothing to happen? She was taking his clothes off for Christ's sake!"

"Given their history, no! I didn't think that was going to happen. Rory's a sensible girl and I didn't know that they were back together!" They were both yelling so loudly that the whole town could hear what was going on. And people wonder why the citizens of Stars Hollow are always gossiping.

"Well apparently, you didn't think!"

"Okay, you know what? I can't take this anymore! You CANNOT blame this on me. I don't control these kids and either do you. Jess said he was getting his key and that was all."

"How long does it take to get a key?"

Luke stormed away into the diner, red with frustration. Every customer in there had heard their bickering and watched Luke intensely as he took his frustration out on a batch of hamburgers.

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"Okay, we've got to stop." Jess said, he was out of breath. "One of them is going to walk in here on us again and all Hell will break loose."

"You're right. I need to go talk to my mom." Rory stood up and straightened her clothes. She pushed her hair behind her ears and picked up her purse. She turned over to Jess, "I'll meet you outside in two hours." Jess pulled her down and gave her one last long kiss. She pulled away and hurried out of the apartment, trying not to smile. She started to think of what she was about to face, and the task became easier.

She was greeted in the diner by Luke's yelling. "Listen, Rory, you know I think you're a good kid and all, but you and Jess can't be doing that in my house. Your mom is all pissed off now and she thinks it's my fault. You really need to talk to her."

"I'm sorry, Luke, really. Where'd she go?"

"Don't know, just left about two minutes ago. You can probably catch her."

"Thanks, and I'll put in a good word for you." She rushed out of the diner and looked either way. She saw her mother walking down the street in the direction of their house.

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"Listen to me, and listen to me good," Luke stormed into the small apartment, swinging the door open with great force. "When I said you could live here, I didn't mean that you could go messing around with Rory, getting me in trouble with Lorelai. You don't come up here with her alone, pretend to be finding your key, and then start screwing around."

"We weren't screwing around!"

"Oh really? Then what exactly were you doing?"

"I, I don't know, " Jess paused, "It just kind of happened."

"Well, make sure it doesn't happen again!" Luke started in the direction of the door and a sly smile grew across his face. He turned around and looked at Jess. "You know, " he said, "Once me and Lorelai are married, you and Rory will be cousins." He started to laugh.

"Come on Luke!" Jess said, disgusted, "Not by blood!"

"Oh well, it's still true." Luke walked out of the apartment and down the stairs, satisfied with himself. He could now only hope that Rory could work things out with Lorelai.

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"Mom! Mom, wait up." Rory ran to her mother's side, breathing heavily and resting a hand on her shoulder. "Mom, we need to talk."

"Yeah, we really do. What the hell is the matter with you, Rory?" Lorelai was yelling, "You used to be so sensible and now you're talking crazy, dropping out of school, moving in with my mother, and on the verge of having sex with a guy whose disappointed you more than once."

Rory was looking around at the town's people, embarrassed that her personal decision had just been screamed for them all to hear. "Can we go home and talk? I don't want to do it here."

The two walked back as fast as possible, uncomfortable silence between them. Rory ran up the stairs to the porch and bursted through the door. She'd been here hours ago, but she'd already missed it dearly. She walked over to the couch and sat down, immediately springing into conversation. "Okay," she said with a stern look on her face, "I know that you don't like Jess. I know that you never did, and you probably never will. You know that I trust your opinion more than anything in the world, but with some things, I need to trust my own instinct."

"I know that," Lorelai said sympathetically, "I'm not trying to make up your mind for you."

"Okay. Well, last night I left Grandma's house because I wanted to walk around town. I was by myself until I saw you and Luke in the diner. I heard everything. Congratulations. I couldn't be happier." This brought a smile to Lorelai's face. "I was turning away to go back to Hartford and I saw Jess. I didn't know it was him at first. Then we were fighting and I started to cry and things just got out of control. We ended up spending a night in a motel." Lorelai's mouth opened but Rory cut her off, "Nothing happened! We just slept, I didn't want to go back to Grandma's." The worried look on Lorelai's face was quickly changed to a look of relief. Rory continued telling her mother the goings on of the previous night. She explained how Jess had gotten everything together and that she truly loved him. Lorelai faintly smiled at all of this, glad that her daughter was happy. She just prayed that Jess didn't dessert her again, she knew Rory wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Sweetie, you didn't have to yell at your Grandmother like that. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but I wanted her to feel like crap for making you feel like crap. Maybe I was out of line for yelling at her, but I just couldn't take her belittling you every five seconds."

Lorelai pulled Rory into a close hug. She'd missed her so much. Rory pulled away and looked up at her mother. "I'm going back to school."

A look of astonishment swept across Lorelai's face. "You are?"

"I don't know what I was thinking. You were right. One man's opinion shouldn't completely shatter my life long dream," Rory sat up and looked her mother square in the face, "Even if I don't have what it takes,"

"You do!" Lorelai said over Rory's voice.

"But even if I don't," she said smiling, "I shouldn't judge myself before trying." She hugged her mother again, finally feeling at home.


	11. What Goes Up Must Come Down

Rory was walking in the direction of Luke's diner to meet Jess. Her and Lorelai had discussed her moving back home and she was going to ask Jess to help her box up her things in Hartford and bring them back. As she rounded the corner, she saw Jess sitting on the ground leaning against the wall of the diner. She watched him for afar, unable to whipe the smile from her face. "Hey." she said, sitting down next to him.

He looked in her direction and returned her smile with a half-hearted smirk. He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. Jess lifted his arm and put it around her shoulder, bringing her in closer to him. He gently kissed her forehead and rested his chin on her shoulder, pressing his lips to her cheek. This sent shivers up Rory's spine and she knew that she needed to get up. She turned her head to him, "Okay, let's go," she announced, quickly getting up and trying to walk toward the car, but Jess wouldn't release her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"In the car." The look on Rory's face immediately sent a message to Jess. She wanted to be alone with him, where the citizens of Stars Hollow couldn't see them. He followed her and rushed into the passanger seat of Rory's car. He slammed the door shut and leaned into her, kissing her again. Rory pulled away and started the car up. "I need you to help me with something."

"What?"

"I talked to my mom," she said as she watched Jess's hand glide toward her thigh, gently caressing it, "And we decided that I'm going to move back in with her."

"Good."

"Yeah. But what that means is that I'm going to need to get my stuff from my grandparents' house all packed and back in by tonight."

Jess's giddy expression immediately disappeared. "Oh, no. You know that your grandmother hates me, Rory! I can't go there."

"I'll sneak you in through the back. I'll go right in and tell my grandma what's going on. Give me five minutes and come through the backyard, I'll stand outside of the pool house and let you in."

"Okay, but if she catches me, I cannot be held responsible for what I say."

Rory smiled at this. She liked this. She liked this a lot.

hr /hr 

The car silently pulled up to the Gilmore house and Rory stopped it and got out. She leaned in before closing the door reminding Jess of their plan. "Five minutes, go around there, I'll be waiting," she instructed him, pointing to the open iron gate. She closed the car door and walked up to the tall house, ringing the door bell. Her palms were sweaty.

The maid answered the door. "Good afternoon Miss Gilmore. Your grandmother is in the living room."

"Thank you." Rory walked toward the living room and saw Emily sitting on the couch, martini in hand, looking at some kind of list. "Grandma?" she said softly.

"Hello, Rory." Emily said, not turning around or moving at all. "Can I help you with something."

"Me and mom talked, I'm going back to Yale."

"Well, that's very nice," she said, still not doing anything to make Rory feel more comfortable. But why would she? Rory knew that she'd made her grandmother fell defeated, so she shouldn't be all fuzzy and sweet.

"Well, I'm moving back home. So I'll just box up my stuff and get out of your way."

"Whatever you say."

Rory started to walk toward the door into the backyard when she heard the door bell ring. "Could you get that?" Emily said to her, "Inga's in the kitchen making dinner and I'm busy. Just tell whoever it is to come in here, please."

Rory walked to the front door, obviously annoyed by her grandmother's passive-aggresive attitude. She reached the tall, dark door and opened it carelessly.

"Hey there Ace," Logan said, standing at the door with a huge smile on his face. He leaned into her and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"Logan, what are you doing here?" Rory started to panic. Damn her grandmother for making her open the door.

"Well, I thought that since you weren't answering any of my calls, there must be something wrong with your phone." Rory nodded her head, not really listening, but strategizing. "So I thought that I would surprise you, maybe take you out to lunch."

"Uhmm.." Rory hesitated, "Isn't it a little late for lunch?"

Logan stepped inside and put his hands around her waist, pushing the door closed behind them. "Okay, so I'll take you out for dinner."

"A little early for dinner."

"Okay, well then," he laughed, somewhat confused, "What do you feel like doing?"

Emily appeared and immediately shifted into hostess mode. "Logan! How nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too, Emily." his smile was sincere.

"Well, come on inside. Rory was just packing some things up in the pool house."

"Packing things up? How come?" He looked down at Rory, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

"Rory's moving back with her mother, she decided to go back to Yale afterall." Emily answered for her granddaughter.

"Really? That's great, Ace. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well I was uhm, wrapped up in all of the excitement I guess."

"Okay, I'll help you out with packing."

"No, I've got it. You should go out and have fun." Rory couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to deject Logan's offer, but she knew that she couldn't have him and Jess in the same room. She hadn't told Jess about Logan, and of course she hadn't told Logan about Jess.

"Nonsence!" Logan began to lead Rory out to the backyard.

They turned toward the pool house and Jess came out from behind the bushes. Logan's back was turned to him and Rory was motioning for Jess to go back to the car. But he wasn't looking at Rory. He was focused on Logan's arm resting on Rory's waist. He walked straight past the bushes and up to the two of them. "What the hell is this?" he said, finally looking at Rory.

Logan was startled at the sound of Jess's voice and turned around, completely confused. "Ace, who's this?"

"Uhm," Rory started, not sure what to say.

"Who the hell is Ace?" Jess said, looking up at Logan with jealousy in his eyes.

Rory broke free of Logan's embrace and pushed Jess aside. "I'm going to handle this. Please go back to the car and I'll meet you there."

"No way, Rory! Who is this guy?"

"I'm her boyfriend!" Logan said in his own defense, moving toward Jess, his chest puffing outward.

"What?" Jess looked at Rory, completely dumbfounded. "You have a boyfriend?"

"No!" Rory said, trying to get the situation under control.

"No?" Logan shot back at Rory, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, yes. I don't know." Rory said, pushing Jess back once again. It was no longer a fight over her, they were now fighting with her. She realized how stupid she had been for lying to both of them. "Listen, Jess, I really need to talk to Logan right now."

"Logan?" Jess said, mockingly.

"Please?" Jess stood still for a moment, shooting glances between the two of them. Finally he walked off, obviously furious.

A frustrated breath of air escaped from Rory's lips as she walked toward Logan.

"Okay," he said, "You need to tell me what the hell is going on here."

"Can we sit, please?" Rory said, on the verge of tears. She lead Logan over to the small garden bench a few feet from the pool house. Rory watched him as he sat down, a look of curiosity mixed with anger, still on his face. "Okay." she started, feeling confident that she had a reason to be with Jess. But as she tried to pull her thoughts together in a way that Logan would be able to understand without fury taking over, she realized that she didn't. She didn't have a reason at all. At least not one that would make Logan see. She was doing exactly what she had done to Dean all those years ago. Jess made her fall in love with him all over again, and now he was making her hurt people all over again. No, this wasn't Jess's fault. It was hers. Rory never told Jess about Logan, so he wasn't making her do anything.

"Rory?" Logan said.

Rory snapped out of it at the sound of her name. Logan never called her anything aside from Ace unless she was upset, or he was. "Jess is my old boyfriend."

"Are you sure he's an i _old /i _boyfriend?"

"Logan! Let me talk, okay?"

"Go right ahead."

"Jess and I dated for a little less than a year during my senior year of high school. He ended up leaving me for California to find his father who abandoned him when he was born."

"This is all very interesting, but what I want to know is what he's doing here with you now."

Rory shot Logan an aggravated look. He put up his hands in defense and gestured for her to continue. She let out a long breath, "I went back to Stars Hollow last night and saw him walking around. The first thing lead to the next and here we are again."

"Again?" Logan said with worry in his voice. He moved his head closer to Rory's, trying to pressure her into telling him the truth.

"I still love him, Logan. I always have. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Logan got up from the bench in the middle of Rory's confession and started walking back and forth, trying to figure out what his girlfriend was telling him. "So, you mean to tell me that this guy that left you alone two years ago just randomly shows up in town and you're back in love with him?" His tone was loud and aggravated.

"It's more complicated than that." Rory said, feeling absolutely terrible, but somewhat relieved that she had finally told him the truth.

"So, that's where you were this morning? With him?"

"Yes."

"Why did you lie to me, Rory? Why? I can't seem to find a good reason on your part for that."

"I know, I just, I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't want to hurt me?" Rory winced at the volume of Logan's voice, she was trying to hold back her tears but was failing. "People always say that. They're always saying that they lied to protect their loved ones. Well I hope that you've learned from this very experience that lying only makes things worse."

"Logan, you have to believe me,"

"No! I don't have to believe anything that you say. You're the one that screwed up here, not me. We had a good thing going here. I love you. I do, and you know that. And I thought that you loved me too, but I guess I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong! I did love you, just.."

"Not like you love him, right?"

Rory looked down at her hands. She twiddled her thumbs trying to think of something to say that could make everything better. She said the first thing she could think of. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I." Logan turned around and walked out of the backyard. Rory rested her head in her hands and cried.


	12. Fight For Your Right To Love Me

**Author's Note: **This is another scene that would probably never happen on the show. Everyone who loves Jess, and even those who don't, know that he's not one for showing emotion. Probably the most he's ever shown was telling Rory he loved her. A lot of this is just fluff. Stuff that I always thought Jess was keeping behind his big, tough exterior, and had always wanted to say. What can I say? I love him and I wish he were in love with me, not Rory. Enjoy.

**Chapter Twelve: Fight For Your Right To Love Me**

Jess waited in the car, not knowing if Rory and Logan were still talking. He wanted to go back into the yard and talk to her, but she asked for privacy and he respected that. It felt like he was sitting there for hours, he wanted to leave. He was, no doubt, mad at Rory for lying to him. He felt like he was in the exact situation that he was two years ago. The boyfriend may be different, not as tall, but it was still a boyfriend. Why did she lie to him? He couldn't understand it. He told her that he loved her, and meant it, of course. She asked for him to assure her that he did. So maybe it was his turn to ask now. He had to fight for her again. But little did he know, that behind that large, intimidating, stone house of the Gilmores, she was eliminating his competetor.

Minutes later, Jess saw Rory appear from behind the house in tears. She was walking slow and not looking in his direction, she looked almost zombie-like. He got out of the car and went over to her. "Can you help me move my things now? Logan's gone."

"We need to talk," he said before he moved an inch.

"We can do it in the pool house." Rory walked back to the yard, not waiting for Jess. He stood there looking after her as she moved toward the pool house, he didn't know where to begin.

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The two stood there packing things up in silence. Jess wanted to talk about what had just happened, but felt it should be Rory's responsibility to bring it up. He watched her bend down and retrieve three cardboard boxes from the floor. She took them over to the bed and began to wrap up her picture frames in tissue paper, gently placing them in the boxes. Jess noticed the frame that contained the picture of her with Logan. Jealousy shot up his spine. He knew very well that he hadn't been there for her when she needed him, but he didn't want her to be with anyone else. He hoped, as cruel as it was, that Rory had just sat and pined for him after he left. He knew this probably wasn't the case, seeing as she'd turned him down when he asked her to go back to New York with him. It was a dream he'd always had, and now reality had shattered it.

Rory finished putting the frames in the boxes and pulled out a picture album. She opened it up and flipped through the pages, smiling at certain ones. Jess caught a glimpse of a picture of the two of them. She had kept pictures of them all of these years. Maybe she had missed him.

"I'm sorry." Rory said softly, still looking down at the photo album, afraid yet hopeful of Jess's response. "I am."

"Rory, you lied to me," he paused, "Why?" Jess's voice was low and calm, but Rory knew what was coming.

"I didn't lie to you, exactly." she said, hoping to get some clearance.

"Oh, really? Then what do you call telling me that you love me and then almost sleeping with me, while you have a boyfriend?" There it was, the volume she'd been expecting.

"I did not almost sleep with you!" she said to her defense. She wasn't quite sure why she was even trying to win this.

"So you mean to tell me that if your mother hadn't walked into Luke's apartment when she did, nothing would have happened?" Rory didn't answer. "Huh?"

"I..." she hesitated, trying to hold back tears again, "I don't know."

Jess walked over to the door and leaned his back against it, closed his eyes, and breathed out a long, frustrated breath. He didn't want the relationship him and Rory were now building to be gone. It had been, though short, absolutely wonderful. He really did love her, and he wanted to make her see that. He wanted to make her see that he was reliable this time and that he wouldn't leave her like he had before. As odd as it sounds, when he was away from her and trying to get over her, his love for Rory had just grown stronger. He knew that somewhere in her heart, she had to still love him. He knew it because he had the kind of love a person has for another, where if it goes unrequited, it could kill him. He knew that they were meant to be together, but somehow they lost it all. They lost it all because of the way he treated her, the way he left her all alone, to blame herself for what had happened between them. She needed to know all of this. He needed to tell her, so he did.

"Listen, let me talk for a minute." he said, his tone had returned to a regular volume and Rory was glad for that. "When I told you that I loved you, I meant it. I know I already told you this, but I think you may need to hear it again. I love you so much. I never stopped loving you. To this day I still cannot figure out why I left you all alone. I know the reasons that I left Stars Hollow, but I don't understand why I didn't tell you that I loved you before I did. I don't understand why I felt obligated to be a tumbleweed blowing in the dust with no sign of goodbye. I should have told you that I still loved you and that you weren't the reason I left. When I was gone, I tried like my life depended on it to forget you." he paused and looked down at the floor. "It didn't work." he said, looking up at her again. "Like I told you before, I didn't come here to see you. I didn't think I would be able to take you turning me down again."

Jess noticed Rory's face, as if she were saying 'I'm sorry for breaking your heart.' "But I can't blame you for turning me down, I would have turned me down too. I was a world class jerk when it came to the way that I treated you. It wasn't that I didn't want to be with you, it was everything else. Everything in my life was going wrong at that point in time except for you. I thought that I didn't deserve you and that you were wasting your time with me, so I yelled at you and took my problems out on you."

"I never hated Dean for who he was. If I had met him somewhere else not those under certain circumstances, I probably would have gotten along with him just fine. I hated him because he had you. I never in my life met a girl that had so much power over me that she could make me fall in love with her over and over again everyday. Then I met you. You're the only person I ever loved, and I mean that. I don't know about this Logan guy. He may love you, but I can promise you that he will never even come close to loving you as much as I do." he stopped and built up his courage to ask her his next question. "This afternoon you asked me if I really loved you. I didn't ask you because I thought I could be sure. Now I'm rethinking it. So now I need for you to tell me. Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

Rory sat looking at Jess, overwhelmed by his confession. If she had told him that she'd broken up with Logan before, she probably would never have heard those words leave his mouth. He was never one for showing emotion, but she could always just feel his love when she was with him. Now that he had said it, she was sure she had done the right thing by ending things with Logan. "Yes. I love you so much."

Jess felt relief sweep over his body and mind. He walked over to where Rory had taken a seat on the bed while she was listening to him ramble on about his feelings for her. He bent down and kissed her. He kissed her long and hard. He felt a tingle in his whole body, from his head to his toes. He broke the kiss and looked at her, making sure it was okay. She opened her eyes slowly and told him to close the blinds. He walked over and did what he was told. Rory stood and at the edge of the bed, moving the boxes of her things to the floor. She took off her shoes and set them down next to the boxes. She walked over to Jess and put her arms around his torso, feeling the warmth of his body pressed against her. She kissed him again, and lead him over to the bed, brushing her hands through his hair. Jess laid her against the soft cotton sheets of the unmade bed and watched as she took off her shirt skillfully. _She's beautiful, _he thought, _absolutely beautiful. _Rory reached up and pulled off Jess's black t-shirt. His hands ran over her bare skin gently, making himself anxious. He was nervous. He'd been with a few girls before, but none of them had ever made him nervous. _They were never this amazing, that's why_, he thought. _Never like her_.

But they hadn't locked the door. This time they heard it. The door knob being jingled and squeaking open. Caught again.


	13. Definitely Worth It

**Author's Note: **Sorry that's it's taken me a while to update.. but ya know, it's summer and life gets in the way. This chapter's a really short one. A lot of the reviews I've gotten are complaining about cliffhangers. I don't mean to be rude, but please don't critique my way of ending a chapter. Yes, constructive criticism is always good, but I like having the occasional cliffhanger, because it keeps the readers coming back for more. Secondly, please don't tell me that I shouldn't have Jess and Rory be caught twice in one story. This is my world, I get to do whatever I want with the characters. This, my fellow readers/authors, is called a plot. I do, however, appreciate all the reviews I get that are positive, or that give me pointers on certain things. I even appreciate those that tell me that they don't like my story because it doesn't fit their taste, but they always respect the effort. So say what you want, just please don't tell me what to do with my characters. Keep them coming. Once again, I apologize for not updating sooner. Enjoy.

**Chapter Thirteen: Definitely Worth It**

The sound of her feet hitting the concrete below her seemed to drown out the sound of her cell phone ringing. Eventually, Lorelai heard the cheery sound, and answered the call. "Hello?" she said, expecting Luke or Rory.

"Lorelai Gilmore!" _Oh no. Emily_. "I hope you're happy."

"Excuse me?"

"I just walked into the pool house, and do you know what I found?"

"No mom," she said, she knew the routine, "What did you find?"

"I found your daughter and that hoodlum, Jess, half naked on the bed. That's what I found."

_Again?_ "What? Rory and Jess?" this wasn't what she'd expected.

"Yes. In my house! You should be ashamed of yourself! First your daughter comes here completely disrespectively yelling at me, telling me that I don't treat you right. Then she comes back, tells me she's moving in with you, breaks up with her boyfriend, and is all over some random boy. That's disgusting!"

"What? Come on, Mom, you CANNOT blame this on me." Lorelai had stopped walking and sat down under a tree on the way to Luke's. "Yes, Rory's made some bad mistakes lately. We resolved her going back to school. She told me what she said to you. I had no part in that. No part at all."

"I don't give a damn what you had a part in." Lorelai was cut off by Emily with more intense yelling. "That is your daughter. You raised her, and she is following your example. This is just as much your fault as it is hers."

"Is she still there with you?"

"Yes, she's packing up her things as we speak."

"Okay, I'm coming over." Lorelai snapped her cell phone shut and rushed over to Luke's diner. She burst into the door, shouting for Luke. He finally appeared from the kitchen. "What the hell are you screaming about?" Lorelai didn't answer him. She went behind the counter and pulled the sleeve of Luke's shirt. She lead him up into the apartment and slammed the door shut. "Lorelai! I have customers, what is this about?"

"Oh, do I have something to tell you, buddy."

"Again? What could you possibly have to tell me?"

"I just got a call from my mother," she paused, "Do you know what she said?" Luke put an expression of wonder on his face, just to satisfy Lorelai's need for leaving him clueless. "She told me that she walked into the pool house and saw Jess on top of Rory. Supposedly," she paused again, "they were both half naked!"

"Again!"

"Yeah. Twice in one day! Twice!"

"Okay, so what are we going to do? It's not like we can punish them. They're both almost twenty years old."

"Oh, maybe we can't punish them like we used to, but there's got to be some way to make them pay for me having to go over to my mother's house and explain this."

"Okay," Luke said, cleaning his hands with a ratty rag, "You go over there and get them, and come tell me everything that happened once you get back."

"Oh! I don't think so! You're coming with me."

Before Luke could protest, Lorelai was already dragging him down the stairs and yelling at Ceaser to take over until he got back. They walked over to Lorelai's truck and got in. He was fearing having to face Emily again. He never did like that woman, and from what he could tell, she didn't exactly fancy him either. She was the reason they'd broken up in the first place. Now they were getting married, and she was going to be family. He would have to deal with her sooner or later. He had no choice. He watched Lorelai as she drove, content at times, testy at others. He liked that she made little expressions when she saw a cute puppy on the sidewalk, or a pretty garden in front of a beautiful house. He could imagine what their house together would look like. He liked how she scowled at careless drivers, and tried to hold back screaming at them, and miserably failing. Facing, possibly, the worst mother-in-law-to-be- in the world was definitely worth getting to wake up next to this amazing woman every morning. Definitely.


	14. Actions, Consequences, & Apologies

**Author's Note:** What can I say? I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I had to repost this chapter for a mistake I made. I had written that Rory's grandparents had been paying for Harvard instead of Yale. A reviewer pointed that out to me. Thank you very much for that. I've gotten a lot of reviews on saying that this chapter seemed rushed. I agree. I didn't mean for it to be that way, but it sort of happened. It did all fall into place very easily. Maybe a sequel will follow to make up for it. Not sure yet. Thanks so much for all of your reviews. I've enjoyed writing this story and I'm sorry if you were unsatisfied with my ending. I truely am. Keep checking for a sequel, I'm not sure if it will happen yet.

Rory stood in the pool house, straightening out her messy hair. She glanced over at Jess and couldn't hold in her laughter. She giggled slightly, then became serious again. She saw her grandmother through the window, standing in the house, talking to her grandfather. She was guessing that she was telling him about what she'd just found. "I'm going to get so much crap for this. I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"Yeah, so am I."

"What?"

"Uhm, remember, Luke?"

"Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting that you're going to stay with him."

Jess smiled. "Well, whatever crap he gives me, it'll be worth it."

Rory blushed. She bent down and put her shoes back on. She was fearing what her mother was going to say once she got there. She heard Emily yelling at Lorelai over the phone about it, so she knew that she was coming over. Yes, doing what her and Jess were doing in her grandmother's house was not smart at all. But, sometimes you get swept up in the moment, and that's what happened. They were swept up in the moment. Twice.

Rory got distracted from her thoughts at the sound of the pool house door opening. She looked up and found her mother standing at the door. With Luke. She exchanged worried looks with Jess. This wasn't going to be fun. She watched as Lorelai closed the door behind her. She walked to the center of the room, facing Rory and Jess. "Okay, listen you two. You cannot be doing things like this. Especially not in my mother's house!"

"Mom, I can expl-"

"No! I'm talking right now," Lorelai cut her off, "This is unacceptable. I get that you guys are adults, and that means that in a relationship, you're going to be doing adult things." Lorelai made a suggestive face, "But you have to do that on your own time, in privacy. Twice in one day you got caught on the verge of doing something extremely personal."

"And, what have I told you, Jess" Luke jumped in, "I told you that with a girl like this, you need to be a gentleman. This is completely the opposite. This is disrespectful and inconsiderate of her family!"

Rory glanced over at Jess to see his reaction. It was, of course, the typical Jess Mariano reaction. He stood staring straight ahead, not really acknowledging the lecture that Luke was giving him. He didn't talk back, because he knew it would get him no where. Rory knew Jess knew that Luke made sense and so did Lorelai. Jess just wasn't the kind of guy to admit such a thing. Everyone who knew him knew that. Her thoughts were shaken once again at the sound of Lorelai's persistent lecturing. "Same goes for you, Rory. I understand that you may be on the outs with your grandmother as of this moment, but that gives you no right to disrespect them in their own home, or anywhere for that matter." Lorelai stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts, rubbing her forehead and looking down at the floor. "I get that you guys are together now. I get that you have feelings that you've both had for a long time. But you have to think, Rory, about all of the things that are going on here. You almost dropped out of school. You need to get back on the right track."

"Mom, I am back on the right track. I'm going back to school and coming back home for the summer."

"Yeah, I know that," an annoyed look grew on Lorelai's face, "But you still have to go to court for stealing that boat with Logan! That's going to be a lot of pressure and drama for a while. We need to find a lawyer and you need to focus on the case."

"I know. I can handle it."

"I'm not saying you can't. I just want you to think about things. You know how much your grandparents have given you. They paid for Chilton and they're still paying for Yale. I know that you're mad at your grandmother for certain things, but you cannot shut them out of your life. Give it time, yes, but don't freeze them out. They love you so much."

"I know." Rory felt a pang of guilt. Her mother was right. Her grandparents had given her everything she'd ever asked for. Now, when she rethought some of the things she had said to Emily, she felt bad. Of course, she'd needed to hear them, but Rory could have said it in a better way. "You're right."

"Okay. Me and Luke are going to help you pack up the rest of your stuff as quickly as possible, and then we're out of here."

Rory immediately jumped into packing mode. The four of them had everything in its rightful box within an hour. Jess and Luke carried the boxes out to the cars. Lorelai pulled Rory aside once the two men were loading the last two boxes of things. "Listen," she started, softly, "I'm sorry that I blew up like that infront of Jess. But I think that what I said needed to be said. Badly."

"Yes, it did."

"I'm glad we're on the same page." She bent down and kissed Rory on the forehead and pulled her into a tight hug. "I missed you, sweets."

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Jess followed Luke over to Rory's car with a cardboard box filled with some of Rory's clothes. The box was open and he could smell her scent on them. He watched Luke open the door to the silver car and put the box he held in the back seat. "What the hell is this?" Jess heard him say.

Jess walked over to the car to see what Luke was talking about. He saw the tiny kitten that he and Rory had found in the middle of the street a few hours ago. "Oh," he said, "that's Jasper."

Luke looked up at Jess, completely confused. "You have a cat?"

"Well, we were driving over here and he was in the middle of the road. Rory got out to move him so she wouldn't hit him, and he just followed her. So, we took him with us and named him Jasper." Jess was peering through the window at Jasper as a large smile creeped across his face.

"I never knew you were a cat person." Luke said, mockingly.

Jess broke his smile and became defensive. "I'm not. Rory likes him, I couldn't care less."

"Right."

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Rory closed the door to the pool house behind her. She walked toward the house, Lorelai's arm around her shoulder. As she opened the door, she took a deep breath. She knew she had to straighten things out with her grandmother.

Emily in Richard's study, talking to him in a hushed tone.

"Mom!" Lorelai shouted to her, "We're leaving."

"One minute, Lorelai."

Rory stood there, her heart beating rapidly. She wasn't even sure what to say, but she knew she had to say something. Emily started walking out of the study and toward the two of them. "Grandma, can I talk to you?"

"What is it, Rory?" she asked, almost impatiently.

"About before. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You and Grandpa are so good to me and you didn't deserve that. I'm really sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"What?" Rory was taken back by this.

"You were right. I don't give your mother enough credit. She raised you all alone and you're a wonderful girl." Emily turned to Lorelai. "I know that I can be hard on you sometimes, Lorelai. A lot of times I realize that I'm unfair."

"Mom, I understan-"

"Let me finish. I know that we have given you a piece of our minds on how we thought running away and raising Rory all by yourself was a terrible decision. But now I understand that if you had done it any other way, Rory would not be the same. I know that if you had married Christopher, you wouldn't have been happy. You would never have moved to Stars Hollow, and you never would have found Luke. I don't want to shut either of you out of my life. I have made some mistakes in the past, and I just hope that I can be forgiven. Your father and I both. We love you two very much."

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"Okay," Lorelai said, walking up to Rory and Jess who were on Luke's couch. "Me and Luke are going out for dinner to celebrate. We're going to be back late. You guys are going to hang out here?"

"Uhm, we may go out for ice cream or something, but we'll be here." Rory answered.

"Okay, see you later then. Love you."

"Love you too, mom."

Rory watched Lorelai hook Luke's arm and walk out the door, closing it behind her. She leaned over and kissed Jess. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She got up, walked over to the door, and locked it.

**THE END**


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